MacsvsMasseConfusable pair

Which to use

“Macs” and “Masse” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#41,330
“Macs” frequency rank
#1,815
“Masse” frequency rank
43145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Macs Masse
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Mac die Ursache, dass der Materie Trägheit und Schwere (Gravitation) eigen sind; nach der Relativitätstheorie mit Kraft (Energie) gleichwertig (äquivalent)

Where the eye mixes Macs and Masse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Macs runs 4 letters (CVCC) against Masse's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
Macs
5 ch
Masse

Why the eye confuses Macs with Masse

A purely visual mix-up. Macs ([mɛks]) and Masse ([ˈmasə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Macs is recorded at frequency rank #41,330, classified as anoun, pronounced [mɛks]. Masse is at rank #1,815, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmasə].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 43145, this pair ranks #1,427,258 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Macs vs Masse

Shared letters: ams. Private to "Macs": c. Private to "Masse": e.

"Macs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Masse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Macs ← amcs · maccs · macss · masc · mcas · mmacs
  • Masse ← amsse · mase · mases · maße · mmasse · msase

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Macs" and "Masse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([mɛks] versus [ˈmasə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Macs" vs "Masse" - which ranks higher?
"Masse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,815 in our German list, against #41,330 for "Macs". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Macs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Masse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,427,258 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Macs" and "Masse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Macs vs Mals". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,427,258 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list